One Love, One Life
by Alexannah
Summary: -New Years Special 2010- Buffy cannot resist hitching a ride to the 1800s to see Spike when he was just William. But can the Doctor stop her from changing history?
1. Dalek in Cleveland

**Summary:** NEW YEARS' SPECIAL 2010! Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who Crossover. Buffy cannot resist hitching a ride to the 1800s to see Spike when he was just William. But can the Doctor stop her from changing history?

**Rating:** T or below

**Canon/Spoilers:** BtVS: Post-series seven with spoilers for Chosen, Fool for Love and Lies My Parents Told Me. DW: Post-Runaway Bride with spoilers for Doomsday, not entirely canonical.

**Disclaimer:** The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Twentieth Century Fox etc. The Whoverse belongs to Russell T Davies, the BBC, etc.

**Author's notes:** Although technically a crossover, you probably don't need to be familiar with Doctor Who to read this fic. I know this is a bit late for a New Years fic, but I have been up to my eyes in finishing an art project with loads of last-minute changes. Also, in my haste to get it out before everyone lost the New Year spirit, it's not been beta'd yet. Will hopefully be beta'd and reposted by the time I post the next chapter. Will be a fairly short fic, around four chapters.

* * *

**One Love, One Life**

_One love, one life  
Locked me in the heart of misery  
One loss, one fight  
Locked me in the heart of misery …  
One man forgot to breathe  
One heart refused to beat  
One love is incomplete  
__**- The Rasmus**_

**Chapter One: Dalek in Cleveland**

"_Our top story: In the past few days, there has been a mass of disappearances in the city. Police have yet to find anything linking them, except for a pile of ash in the area where they were last seen. So far the only witness to any of these events has been the four-year-old daughter of one of the victims, who has been reported as claiming to have seen a monster. Citizens are asked not to panic -"_

Buffy turned the television off and looked over at Giles.

"Well, you guys might not think it's something to investigate, but I do." She folded her arms and glared at her two best friends and her Watcher. They all looked at each other.

"It's not that we don't think people being reduced to little piles of ash isn't worrying," Xander said. "But -"

"But," Giles interrupted, "we don't see why it has to be _us_ that pursues it."

"Buffy." Willow stood up, took her friend by the arm and led her into the kitchen. "We've had this conversation. Why not let one of the hundreds of other Slayers out there handle it? We've got at least a dozen in the area. You deserve a break."

"I don't need a break, Will."

"We all think you do. A permanent break. Come on, we all know you've always wanted this."

"'Always wanted'? Yeah, I've always wanted the love of my life to be sacrificed to save the world." Buffy turned away.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." Willow grabbed Buffy before she could leave. "Retirement. You've earned it."

"No, I haven't." Buffy sighed. "And besides, what am I supposed to do? Just rewind eight years and forget about everything that's happened since I became the Slayer? I can't. I've seen too much." She swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut. "I've lost too much. I have to keep going."

"Spike would have wanted you to be happy."

"But I can't." Buffy wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "So I might as well keep fighting instead, and at least make him proud. I just … I wish I'd had more time."

It was as she finished her sentence, a strange mechanical whirring filled the room through the open window. They exchanged curious looks and peered out of the window.

"Sounds like it's coming from down the road," said Willow.

Buffy hurried to the door. "Come on."

It didn't take long to find the source of the noise. Just round the corner, Buffy stopped dead and Willow ran into her. Both stared. In the middle of an alleyway sat a big blue box.

At the top was written _Police Public Call Box_. It had square windows just underneath and a light on the top.

"What is _that?_" Willow whispered.

Before Buffy could respond, a door of the box opened inwards and a man came out. He looked quite young, was dressed in a long brown coat and was staring at some kind of remote control in his hands, muttering to himself and taking no notice of them at all.

"Temporal shift, yes, that's the one. What's the matter with this thing?" he muttered, shaking it. "Ah, that's better." A small red light started flashing on the end. "Good, we're near then. Now the question is …"

"Who are you?" Willow blurted.

He jumped and looked up. "No, that wasn't the question. But still a valid one." He grinned at them like a manic. "My name's the Doctor, and you are …?"

"Um," Buffy said, "I'm Buffy Summers, and this is Willow Rosenberg. Doctor what, sorry?"

"Just the Doctor. Nice to meet you." He frowned. "Is this early twenty-first century America?"

Buffy and Willow looked at each other, a mutual message flashing between them: _He's mad._ "Is that optional?" Willow asked.

"Well, for me it is." The control in the Doctor's hand let out a bleep. "Oops, sorry, must dash. I have an alien to find." He broke into a run, shouting over his shoulder, "Nice to meet you!"

"Did he just say _alien?_" Buffy said.

"I think he did, yeah."

"Follow him?"

"You bet."

* * *

The only coherent thought running through Buffy's head as she and Willow edged quietly along the top floor was _Why do the bad guys always hide out in clubs?_

The scene below was bizarre even for Buffy's standards. The Doctor stood in the middle of the room. A group of scared civilians were cowering in a corner. Between them stood what looked like a knobbly metal tin can with a rounded top, and three rods poking out of it. One rod resembled a sink plunger.

"Doc-tor," the tin can spoke in an emotionless drone. "You – will – sur-ren-der – or – the – ci-vi-lli-ans – will – die."

"That's the thing about you Daleks," the Doctor said in a bored voice. "You're not original at all."

"You – re-fuse – to – sur-ren-der?"

"It would be rather anti-climatic if I actually surrendered, wouldn't it? I mean, come on, you're not exactly expecting me to, are you?"

"That's an alien," Willow whispered. "I'm staring at an _alien_."

"Andrew would be so jealous," Buffy whispered back.

"What's the plan of action?"

"I don't know. Wait a second, see if this Doctor guy has one."

"Da-leks – have – no – con-cept – of – an-ti-cli-ma-tic."

"Anticlimax," the Doctor said as if reading from a dictionary. "Disappointing end after a big build-up. An ordinary or unsatisfying event that follows an increasingly exiting, dramatic, or unusual series of events or a period of increasing anticipation and excitement."

"Da-leks – have – no – con-cept – of – ex-cite-ment."

"And that is the reason – well, one of the reasons – that you are the last one," the Doctor said. "The whole of your race – gone. Just you and me now. Are you going to surrender?"

"E-nough – talk!" the Dalek said. "You – have – no – wea-pon – no – means – of – at-tack."

"Nope."

"Maybe I should step in," Buffy murmured, concerned about this Doctor's sanity – or lack of. Before Willow could respond, she had swung over the railing and dropped down in between the Doctor and the Dalek.

The Doctor whistled. "Nice move."

"Thanks." Buffy brushed her hair out of her face and landed a kick right in the glowing light at the end of the top rod, and it snapped.

"Why didn't I think of that?" the Doctor muttered as Buffy grabbed his arm. The Dalek's top was swivelling as it moaned – as much as that kind of voice could moan – that it couldn't see. She tried to pull the Doctor out, but he wouldn't budge. "Thanks for the distraction, Betty."

"It's Buffy."

The Doctor didn't hear her, having pulled out another metal instrument. She watched in fascination as he pointed it at the Dalek. It lit up and bleeped. The Dalek stopped moving and went completely silent.

"What did you do?"

"I paralysed the system. If the Dalek wants to face me, it can do it without its little gadgets." The Doctor pressed another button on his contraption.

"What's that?" Willow asked, joining them.

"Sonic screwdriver. Don't ask stupid questions. Aha!" Buffy and Willow drew back sharpish as the front of the tin can opened. What was revealed inside looked like a small, tentacley demon.

"Wow," Willow murmured. "_That's_ an alien."

"Could we have a little less of the gossip, please, ladies?" the Doctor said, annoyed. "Ow!" He jumped backwards.

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"I just got electrocuted," he replied.

It looked like the Dalek did, to. It cried out in pain, and then curled up into itself and lay still.

The Doctor sighed. "And another race gone from the galaxy." He turned slowly around and started to leave the club.

"Hey!" Buffy yelled. "Wait!" She raced after him, Willow hot on her heels. "Look, I just saved your life, the least you owe me is an explanation. What exactly _was_ that thing?"

"You did _not_ save my life," the Doctor replied haughtily. "I had everything under control."

"Oh, please. You would be Dalek food if it wasn't for me." Buffy folded her arms and glared at him. Willow rolled her eyes.

"Fine," the Doctor said. "You helped distract it while I got out my sonic screwdriver. But that's all you did. So, goodbye."

"Oh no you don't, buddy. That – Dalek – was an _alien?_"

He surveyed her for a moment. "Yes, it was."

"So what does that make you? 'Cause I know Cleveland is a Hellmouth and everything, but I'm the Sl – I mean, I'm _a_ Slayer and I've never seen anything like that."

"You're a what?"

"Slayer," Willow chipped in. "The original too. Look, Buffy, I ought to get going, I've got that field trip with the Slayers to the magic shop tonight. Fill us in later, okay?"

"Sure." Buffy turned back to the Doctor as Willow walked away. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

"You're definitely human," the Doctor said with a frown, his sonic screwdriver moving around in front of her, flashing and bleeping. "But there's something different about you. What is a Slayer, exactly?"

She slapped his hand away. "Stop bleeping me! I'm a vampire slayer."

"What on earth do you mean, _vampire?_"

* * *

"Sunlight too?" the Doctor asked as they drew up outside the blue box.

"Sunlight, stakes, religious symbols, all the usual mythological stuff. Except garlic, that doesn't work. Actually, Spike loved the stuff." She paused.

"Goodness, I'm on a steep learning curve today," the Doctor said, not noticing the expression on her face "Any other time I would say that that is impossible, but to be honest I'm too tired to argue. Chasing a Dalek round and round space and time does that to you." He turned back to Buffy. "So …"

She shrugged, forcing a smile. "See you around then."

He considered for a moment. "You know what … I'm sorry. You _did_ save my life. Well, sort of." He smiled, but Buffy didn't. "… And you don't seem too happy about that."

"No, it's not that, it's just … it's nothing."

He had a feeling that it wasn't nothing, but chose not to press the matter. "Will you let me say thank you then?"

"I believe you just did," she replied, smiling slightly.

The Doctor grinned. "This blue box?" He patted it. "It's my spaceship."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to believe that?"

"I'm serious, it's a spaceship. It can go anywhere in space … or time."

Her ears noticeably pricked. "Time travel?"

"Yep. The year five billion … the Roman Empire … or another solar system altogether … it's your choice. One trip to say thank you. Where – or when – would you like to go?"

"Sunnydale High School, California," she said without hesitation. "Three weeks and two days ago."

There was a long pause. The Doctor gave an inward sigh, recognising the look in her eyes.

"Who did you lose?" he asked in a soft tone.

Buffy dropped her eyes. "My boyfriend. Well, boyfriend of sorts. Either way … I loved him."

"I can't save him," the Doctor said.

"Please -"

"I'm sorry. I can't go back on anyone's personal timeline. Not even my own."

She squeezed her eyes shut, tears starting to leak. The Doctor drew a hanky out of his pocket and gently pressed it into her hand.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"You're welcome."

He waited patiently while she dried her tears and then gazed unseeingly into space, eventually coming to a decision. "I know when I want to go."

"When?"

"His life before he met me." Buffy paused. "That's allowed, right? I want to see … what he was like. Maybe even say goodbye. Subtly," she added as he opened his mouth. "It won't change anything. Please?"

He sighed. "All right. You win." He opened the TARDIS door for her and she stepped inside.

"Wow," she said in awe. "It's much bigger on the inside."

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

**TBC …**


	2. William the Bloody

**Chapter Two: William the Bloody  
**  
"So," the Doctor said, moving casually around the spaceship and fiddling with controls. "What year are we talking here?"

"I … don't know." Buffy pulled herself out of the shock of being inside a spaceship and considered. "Before he was turned."

"I'm sorry, turned?"

"He was a vampire."

The Doctor raised his eyes. "Of course he was. So, same question: what year?"

"Well … he was turned in 1880; he told me once. I'd like to see him before that."

"Any idea what time of year?"

"No. Does that matter?"

"Well, if you want to see him as close as possible to his – um – turn … I suppose we could play it safe and go to the previous year. How does New Year's Eve sound?"

Buffy smiled. "Great."

"Okay. New Year's Eve, 1879 … where, exactly?"

"London."

The Doctor pulled a switch and grinned. "Here we go!"

The ship suddenly shuddered and Buffy grabbed at a pillar to keep herself upright. Her travelling companion seemed used to it; all he did was laugh at her.

After a sickeningly shuddering ride, the ship grew still.

"Is this it, then?" Buffy said. "Are we here?"

"Take a look," he replied, smiling.

Buffy hurried to the door, but a call from him stopped her in her tracks. "Oy! You can't go out dressed like that!"

She followed his long, complicated directions to a walk-in wardrobe filled with every kind of clothing imaginable, from weird futuristic spandex-like clothing to suits of armour. She changed into a black, flowing dress that seemed to her to fit the time period and ventured back to the main part of the ship.

"How's this?"

The Doctor looked up, and for a moment his face froze. "It's … it'll do," he said finally, looking back down at the controls.

"What's the matter?"

For a moment she thought he wouldn't answer, but he finally said in a quiet voice, "My friend Rose wore that on our second trip together."

The tone of his voice was clear – Rose was no longer around.

Buffy slipped an arm in his. "I'm sorry."

He forced a smile. "Thank you." He snapped back into his previously cheery mood as if somebody had flicked a switch. "Now, shall we go?"

* * *

It took a surprisingly short time for them to find Spike – or, rather, William. He had opened up a little to Buffy about his human life – not much, but enough for her to direct the Doctor to the rough area where he resided. There was snow everywhere and Christmas decorations were still hanging.

"Wow," Buffy murmured. "It's beautiful."

The Doctor began to say something, but Buffy stopped suddenly, a feeling overpowering her. "He's close."

"Sorry?"

She pointed to a large mansion with mistletoe hanging over the door. "In there."

"How on earth do you know that?"

"I don't know," Buffy admitted. "Instinct?"

"Well, it can't hurt to try there. Shall we?"

Buffy swallowed, nerves making her hesitate, but the thought of seeing Spike – William – again was too strong. She nodded and took his arm. "Okay."

There was a New Years' Eve gathering inside, and the room was fairly crowded. Buffy's heart began to sink. How was she supposed to find him in this? Then a name caught her attention. "Watch where you're going, William!"

Buffy whirled around. The Doctor followed her line of gaze.

It was him. Buffy's heart leapt as she recognised Spike's face, somewhat camouflaged by the hairstyle and 1800s clothes. He mumbled an apology to the sneering aristocrat and hurried out of sight again, absorbed in something written on a piece of paper.

"That was him," she whispered. "That was really him."

"Are you going to go over there?"

Buffy bit her lip. "I can't. There's too many people. Maybe we could wait a bit until there are less around?"

The Doctor nodded. "All right. Take your time."

A few minutes later, Buffy was asked to dance, and she reluctantly accepted, as the crowd William was part of didn't seem to be thinning much. She tried to relax, and be polite to the gentleman she was dancing with, even though he spent the whole time talking about himself.

He wasn't the first to ask, either. Buffy tried to enjoy herself as she danced with man after man, all the while barely taking her eyes of the one she really wanted to be with. After a while, the Doctor interrupted, taking her arm and leading her into a dance with him right after she had finished with another.

"We really ought to go soon, Buffy."

"Why? Is there a limit on how long I can spend outside my own time or something?"

"No, because it's nearly midnight. I know the chances of your boyfriend turning on New Year's Day is three hundred and sixty-five to one, but we should be on the safe side."

Buffy bit her lip. "But I haven't had a chance to talk to him yet."

The Doctor sighed. "All right. We'll stay a while longer. But this is against my better judgement."

The clock chimed midnight not long afterwards, and the Doctor looked uncomfortable, but kept quiet. Buffy continued watching William, not taking her eyes off of him.

At last, he shook off his peers and sat down in a corner, pulling out some paper. Buffy took a deep breath. If there was a time to meet him, this was it.

"Excuse me, miss." A voice in her ear made her jump, and she bristled with irritation.

"What?"

The gentleman in question looked rather taken aback at her curt response. "I – was only going to ask for a dance."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm looking for somebody. Excuse me."

There were very few times Buffy didn't like being attractive, and now was one of them. She ducked around two more people, and sighed in frustration when she glimpsed William stand and head back in the direction of the crowd.

"Ah, William!" One of them greeted him, and Buffy bit back the frustration and edged nearer to hear properly. The Doctor reappeared beside her, and she motioned for him to be quiet. The aristocrat who had spoken continued. "Favour us with your opinion. What do you make of this rash of disappearances sweeping through our town? Animals or thieves?"

William replied haughtily, and Buffy's breath caught in her throat at the sound of his voice. She had to stop herself from racing over and throwing herself into his arms. "I prefer not to think of such dark, ugly business at all. That's what the police are for."

Buffy tried to lighten things. "Okay, definitely not the Spike I know -" She stopped as she spotted where he was looking. Or rather, the woman he was looking at.

"I prefer placing my energies into creating things of beauty," William continued.

Jealousy reared its head for a moment as Buffy plainly recognised the look on his face – that adoring gaze. Of course, she should have realised there might have been someone in his life before Drusilla. She blinked back tears. Maybe she shouldn't have come. She didn't want her final memory of the love of her life to be of him with another woman.

"Do you want to go?" the Doctor whispered in her ear.

Buffy opened her mouth to say yes, before the woman turned slightly and she saw her face. "Wait – I've seen her before."

Halfreck?

Well … that was one mystery cleared up. Sort of.

"No, I don't want to go yet." The thought that Spike had barely paid her any attention when they had met again at Buffy's party made her feel better somehow.

"If you're sure."

Another man snatched a piece of paper from William's hands. "I see. Well, don't withhold, William."

"Rescue us from a dreary topic," another said.

Despite his protests, the poem was read aloud. Buffy, who had never heard any of Spike's compositions before, held her breath.

"_My heart expands_," the aristocrat read. "_'Tis grown a bulge in it; inspired by your beauty, effulgent._" He laughed. "Effulgent?"

Not exactly what Buffy had expected, but she didn't think it was worth the mocking laughter that ran around the crowd. She started forwards angrily, but the Doctor caught her arm.

"Don't. This is not the time to draw attention to yourself."

William snatched his poem back with a sour look and started after Halfreck. Buffy groaned, but was distracted by the rest of the conversation.

"… actually one of his better compositions," somebody was saying.

"Have you heard?" another chortled. "They call him William the Bloody because of his bloody awful poetry!"

"I always wondered how he got that name." Buffy didn't mean to have spoken out loud, but nobody heard her.

"It suits him. I'd rather have a railroad spike through my head than listen to that awful stuff!"

"So that's where he got the idea from," Buffy muttered. The Doctor opened his mouth to ask, before apparently deciding he didn't want to know.

Buffy couldn't take the mockery any more. Before the Doctor could stop her, she stepped forward and said in a sweet voice, "Excuse me."

The man who had read out William's poem turned to her. "Yes, Miss?"

"I'm looking for William Pratt," she said. "The poet? I was hoping to ask him for his autograph. He has an amazing way with words, doesn't he? I think his work is absolutely beautiful."

There was a moment of stunned silence, before somebody pointed. "H-he's over there."

She thanked them politely and left, smiling in satisfaction. Her pace slowed as she neared where William and Halfreck were talking. She shouldn't interrupt a private moment – however, Halfreck didn't look very happy. Buffy hovered just within earshot.

"Please stop!" Halfreck was saying.

"I know I'm a bad poet," William said. He sounded almost like he was pleading with her. "But I'm a good man and all I ask is that … that you try to see me -"

"I do see you," she replied. "That's the problem. You're nothing to me, William. You're beneath me."

Buffy was hit with an odd mix of anger, sadness and guilt. She had said those exact words to Spike herself, probably more than once for all she could remember. Halfreck walked away, leaving William looking completely heartbroken. Buffy swallowed. All she wanted to do was go over and comfort him, but now the time had come her legs wouldn't move.

He moved instead, standing and sweeping past her without even looking at her. Buffy remained frozen for a moment more before coming to her senses and hurrying after him.

She lost him in the crowd, but bumped into the Doctor. "Buffy, your man just left the party." He looked at her closely. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," she replied, making a beeline for the door.

She spotted William, staggering down the street and trailing bits of paper. Buffy hurried after him. It took her a minute to realise that he was tearing up his poetry.

"Stop!" she cried, horrified. "William! _William!_"

He heard, and finally, he turned round.

**TBC …**

I know most of that came from _Fool for Love_, but it was necessary. From hereon it will get more interesting. And the Doctor will get a bigger part, he didn't appear much in this one.


	3. Have We Met

**Chapter Three: Have We Met?**

A lump arose in Buffy's throat as she hurried towards William, his confused gaze on her. "Stop," she repeated gently once she had reached him, and bent down to pick up some of the pieces. "You don't want to do that."

"With respect, Miss, they are my work and mine to do as I wish to them." Her heart went out to him as he pushed away her outstretched hand, looking thoroughly miserable. "Please leave me be."

"No," she said stubbornly. He turned his back on her, and she took a deep breath. "I think they're beautiful."

He paused, and turned slightly, but Buffy's heart sank as he replied, "I don't need pity."

"I'm not just saying it, I mean it." Buffy placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You're a good poet, William."

For a moment he just stood there, but finally he turned back to face her. Buffy swallowed. His expression was more of curiosity now. "Have we met?"

Simple question, complicated answer.

"No. Yes," Buffy corrected. "Well, sort of."

William gave a hollow chuckle. "Then he have not met. I would certainly remember a woman as unintelligible as you."

"You haven't met me before," Buffy said, answering the first question. "And, she's beneath you."

His reaction was delayed. "Pardon?"

"The woman you were talking to," Buffy said.

"Cecily Adams?" His voice cracked slightly.

"Yes. She's beneath you, not the other way around."

"Not that I do not appreciate the compliment," William said, "but how would you have any idea if we have not met?"

Buffy smiled mysteriously, her eyes brimming. "I said you haven't met me, but – I know you."

William frowned. "Who are you?"

"I'm Buffy," she half-whispered. The first tear escaped and William looked rather startled, but she brushed it away and stepped closer. "And I'm sorry." At this point her voice broke.

William looked completely baffled now. "Sorry for what? You haven't done anything to me -"

Unable to speak any more, Buffy grabbed his jacket and pulled him into a kiss.

Perhaps it was the shock that stopped him pulling away, which meant Buffy was able to wrap her arms around his neck and deepen the kiss. He hesitantly kissed her back, even brushing her cheek with his hand, wiping away the streaming tears. Buffy blocked out the sounds around them, blocked out the part of her brain scolding her, and all thought of William with Cecily. It was just the two of them again, the way it should have been.

Far too soon, William gently pulled away and Buffy quickly wiped her face. He looked rather dazed.

"You, uh, did not have to apologise for that," he told her.

Buffy gave a watery smile. "I wasn't apologising for that."

"Then – what were you -"

"You'll find out one day." She kissed him again, and whispered in his ear, "I love you."

The words left him visibly stunned. Buffy reluctantly pulled away. She couldn't ignore the facts any more. "I love you," she repeated, choked by tears. "Never forget that."

"I – don't – who _are_ you?"

It was with a great effort that Buffy turned away. "You'll find out one day."

"Stop!" William tried to grab her arm as she walked around him, heading for the alley where the TARDIS was. "I don't understand, you're too cryptic."

Buffy's heart broke as she continued walking. "Goodbye, William," she whispered.

He continued to call after her, and she quickened her pace, not letting herself look back. Once she reached the TARDIS, she opened the door with fumbling hands and stepped inside. Once the door was shut, she slid down the wall and let herself cry.

The soft whirring of the time machine was soothing in a way. A few moments later, the door opened and the Doctor almost fell over her.

"Sorry," he said.

"No, s'my fault," Buffy mumbled, standing up and rubbing her eyes. "Dammit."

A hanky was offered to her, and she took it gratefully. "Thanks. Did you watch that?"

"From a respectable distance," the Doctor replied. "Are you sorry you came?"

Buffy shook her head vigorously. It had been worth the second heartbreak, just for that one last kiss. "No." She took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm ready to go when you are."

"Righto." He started fiddling with dials again, and Buffy braced herself for the jerking start, but it never came. "Oh dear."

As he spoke, the whirring stopped and the TARDIS was plunged into almost complete darkness. The only light was coming from a screen hanging on tangled wires.

"What's going on?" Buffy asked.

"She's shut herself down," the Doctor answered, pulling levers with gusto but yielding no result. "Oh come on, why do you do this to me now?" He pulled out a mallet and Buffy jumped a mile as he whacked the machine with it, but nothing happened.

"Fine." He dropped the mallet. "Have it your way. Looks like we're stuck here for a while," the Doctor said to Buffy.

"You talk to your time machine?"

He chuckled. "She's not just a machine, she's alive. She understands me, don't you? Although she can be very stubborn sometimes."

Buffy hadn't taken in the last part of the sentence. "Doctor."

"Yes?"

She pointed at the screen. "Does that show what's outside this place?"

"Yes," he replied. "Why? – Ah."

A very confused William was shown staring at the TARDIS, running a hand along it as though trying to work out what it was. He had obviously seen them both disappear in the alley and figured there was only one place they could be.

"Well," the Doctor said, "we can't very well take off with him outside anyway. It would make this trip far too memorable for him."

"I think it's pretty unforgettable as it is," Buffy said, sitting down heavily with her eyes glued to the screen. "It's not every day a stranger kisses you in the street, tells you they love you and then vanishes into a big blue box."

"You have a point there," the Doctor said. "Oh look, he has company."

A woman had entered the alley, and Buffy jumped up. "That's Drusilla!"

"Who's Drusilla?"

Buffy didn't answer, the meaning of her appearance sinking in. "This is it. It's tonight."

"What is?"

"The night he turns," she whispered.

The Doctor peered at the screen. "So, she's the one who … Now she actually looks like a vampire to me." He looked back at Buffy. "Do you want me to switch it off?"

Slowly, Buffy shook her head. The thought of witnessing William's death was horrifying, but she couldn't bear to look away now. The Doctor withdrew from the screen, pulled off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. "You look freezing."

She just nodded, watching as Drusilla drew nearer to a wary William. Words were spoken, but the screen didn't have audio. Buffy didn't want to hear it anyway – watching was bad enough.

Soon enough, Drusilla's face changed, making the Doctor jump, but William didn't seem to flinch. Buffy looked away at the last moment, but could picture the scene too vividly in her head.

"Goodbye, William," she whispered again.

She couldn't bring herself to look back at the screen for several minutes, by which time Drusilla was gone and William was lying alone on the ground. Buffy swallowed.

"I want to go back out there."

The Doctor frowned. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. Suppose the police come with you there? You could be arrested."

"I don't care."

He sighed. "Fine. Just don't get blood on my coat."

"Don't think there's much danger of that," Buffy murmured to herself as she left the TARDIS.

She began to shake as she approached the body. William's eyes were still open, their usual bright blue cold and empty. His glasses had fallen onto the ground. Buffy bent to pick them up. They were not broken.

"You won't be needing these anymore, will you?" she murmured, and slipped them into her pocket. She had nothing of Spike to keep – now she had something of William, at least. She gently brushed his eyes closed.

The TARDIS door opened again and Buffy heard the Doctor's voice. "How long does it take for them to – you know."

"Rise again?" Buffy gazed into her love's face. "Varies. But I know for a fact Spike was buried first, so no danger yet."

She planted a last small kiss on his forehead, and paused. William's pocket watch had tumbled out of his jacket and it dangled, open, on its chain. The inscription inside read, _To my dearest William – Happy Birthday! With all my love, Mother_.

A lump arose in her throat. "What about his mother?"

"What about her?" the Doctor asked.

"I don't know if she's still alive – if she is, someone should tell her he's dead."

"Buffy, the police will do that."

She shook her head. "No, we should. I should. I knew him. And I think they were pretty close. She'd appreciate it. And it's not like we're leaving any time soon, are we?"

The Doctor raised his eyes. "Why do they always get their own way?" He sighed. "All right, fine. But we don't stay too long; who knows who else we might run into."

**TBC …**


End file.
